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Church History
  

First Baptist began in downtown Newport News in 1881 and was known as Newport News Baptist Church. In 1888, five lots at the corner of 29th Street and Washington Avenue were given and a brick building was erected on this site and was dedicated on November 23, 1890. By 1901, there were 354 members and the location was moved to the middle of the block on 29th Street. In 1902 the cornerstone for the new church building was laid. The first service in this building was held December 20, 1903. It was a beautiful structure but was gutted by fire on January 27, 1906. Within fifteen months the church was rebuilt and on May 12, 1907, services resumed. In 1920 a spacious, fire-proof three story education building was erected.

After World War II First Baptist continued to flourish and set many records in enrollment, attendance and mission giving. The membership grew until the mid 1950's when people began to move to the suburbs. As the city spread northward, First Baptist proposed another effort at mission outreach which has been a part of the history of the church since the days of its founding. First Baptist is the mother church of Orcutt, Ivy Memorial, Calvary, Hilton and Riverside Churches. On July 21, 1976, the recommendation for a satellite ministry was adopted. The Suburban Chapel was dedicated in October 1979. In 1982, because of continued growth, a second unit was added--the fellowship hall area; a third unit was built in 1985--office space and music wing; and a fourth unit was built in 1990, which was the children's building. We were one congregation in two locations until August 1989 when we closed the downtown church and moved all activities to the suburban location.

During the decade of the 90's we continued to grow and utilized our space efficiently with two Sunday Schools and two worship services.  We eagerly desired a sanctuary large enough to accommodate 1200 people but the process was slow.  The new 4.5 million dollar sanctuary became a reality in 1999 with a seating capacity close to 1000.  The story of how the land and money became available for our facilities is a real testament to God's awesome provision and power.

We are a growing congregation with 1700 members at present, and we continue to look to the future needs of our area.  Our vision, Mission Hampton Roads, is that by 2015 we will endeavor to help provide and equip every ethnic and language group in Hampton Roads in having a place to gather, worship, and learn about the hope we share in Jesus Christ.  Our facility will serve as the equipping and dispatching center as our members move out into the community to become the expression of Christ in the world.